All Forum Posts by: Sarnen Steinbarth

Just off the top of my head:

Physical Things

• Property inspection  (should have professionally inspected)
  • All major systems
    • Electrical
    • Plumbing
    • Heating
    • Roof
    • Structural
    • Environmental
    • Etc.
• Property condition
  
  • Tenant Condition
• Property Location
  • Near noise / environmental fact

Financial / Paperwork

• Leases
  
  • Duration
  • Rent Amount
  • Late Fees
• Condition reports
• Tenant applications
  • Basic Contact info
  • Employment info
  • Emergency contact info
  • Email
• Tenant Estoppel Statement
• Insurance
• Property Tax statement

Well, there is a quick start.  I am sure I am missing some . . .

**** . . . not a luxury property . . .***

Assuming it is now a luxury property, weird dimensions / space etc. I think I would go with something middle-of-the-road like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amana-4-8-cu-ft-Electri...

or 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frigidaire-30-in-5-3-cu...

I always look at reviews, which these seem to have plenty of good ones.

I like flat-tops and self-cleaning.  But I am sure some on here will disagree (fire danger from self cleaning?) - I just make sure the tenants don't leave the property with the self-clean on and make sure there is proper ventilation when running it.

Have you checked the fair housing laws in your state?  

Some states, for example Montana, give the same legal protections for persons securing housing for themselves or their family while not under the care of a parent or guardian, whether or not they have reached age 18.

Yeah, that's been floating around for a few days.  Crazy story.

Here are thoughts and comments on it:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/255438-landlord-claims-tenants-illegally-turned-3-bedroom-into-10

And here are a handful of other crazy ones:  http://www.joetenant.com/crazy-landlord-tenant-stories/

 Post title made me laugh!  I think we've all been there . . . 

Unfortunately tenant's do things like this fairly regularly.  

It sounds almost certain he is leaving one way or another - since he bought a house.

Nearly every state law requires that you mitigate damages and make an effort ot re-rent the unit.  I would imagine Tennessee is the same.

Of course you'll need to follow state law and the lease, but you will likely be able to withold any monetary damages from the deposit.

• Clearly state no sub-let in lease
• Monitor 3rd party websites (like AirBNB) to see if your property is listed
• Set up Google Alerts on your property address
• Address issues directly with tenant when they arise
• And of course: Perform a throrough tenant screen to avoid issues in the first place

I think discussing with landlords and RE agents is great.

The US Census puts out some data on vacancy rates too:  http://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/index.html

Regarding the late fees I think you really need to have an attorney review.  I think it will be nearly impossible to get a conclusive answer on this forum.

An attorney would likely look at:

• The terms of your agreement
• Whether you waived any rights for not having strict compliance at the time of the late fee
• State law and case precedent
• An a handful of other factors

In terms of your state licensing.  While I am not directly familiar with Texas, I can tell you most state licensing authorities have pretty broad authority over their licensees.  If they determine that there was a law broken or a lease violated on a property that you were involved with they could likely do a handful of options (fines, license suspension, rebate to consumer, etc.) if they felt it was warranted.  In reality most disputes between landlord and tenant don't escalate to the point of state licensing involvement.  But could they? Sure.

All the more reason to get sound legal advice, or give the benefit of the doubt to the tenant.